Lightweight structure for aircraft sustaining rotor blades



Patented May 5, 1953 UNITED srarss PAT sur orales LIGH'BVVFEEGiiF STiBfUCTURE AIRCRAFT SUSTAEN'ING .-*ROTOR BLADES This invention relates to the construction of rotor .blades 'for air rotors ,and is especially adapted to, and useful in, aircraft sustainingrotors, for instance, 'the sustaining 'rotoro'f .a 1heliconter.

Gne of the primary objects oi" the Vinvention Tis to provide a rotor blade having Van exceptionally favorable combination of strength and weight characteristics.

`linother object iof the invention to ,improve rotor lolade .structure from 'the standpoint Voi niaterials used, the invention inalrizr7 possible .the employment oi? relatively inexpensive and readily available materials.

'The invention iiur'ther simpliiies fabrication o'f rotorhlades.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the centrifugal :loads Von various parts oi the blade, such .as the blade skin .and ribs, are transferred to the blade spar withoutnecessitating piercing or Welding o'f 'the spar, 4with the re.- sult that 'the problem of breakage of soars ibecause .of 'fatigue is reduced.

How the foregoing and other objects and advantages are attained will appearmore fully vfrom 1 the following description referring .to the accompanying drawings, in which-,-

`Figure l is .a plan View -oi a portion oi arotor blade constructed according to one embodiment of the invention;

`Figure 2 is a chordwise sectional View, on an enlarged scale, taken as indicated by Vthe section line Lil-'2 on Figure Il;

Figure 3 is a further enlarged iragmentarysectional view ofrthe nose portion of the blade Shown in liigures l and 2;

Figure l is a plan view oi a portion of va Vblade constructed according to .a second embodiment-,of the invention;` and 'Figure 5 is a chordwise sectional view taken as indicated hy the line 5-5 on Figure 4.

'The v`clade of 'Figure l incorporates a tubular metallic spar i which constitutes the primary longitudinal strength structure of the blade, this spar Lbeing :adapted to he .connected at its root end'with la rotative hub, lor instance, by means ci clade pivots providing for movement oi the blade in the 4flapping sense, inthe pitch vchange and/or in other senses, according to the type of rotor voperation desired.

itthe iront and rear of the spar li, shear strips 'i and t vare arranged, these strips being extended preferably throughout Athe length of the spar and being adhesively secured to the spar. Adv-anspruce `or bass.

The "blade further incorporates 'a plurality of ribs 9 which are aperturedtopa-ss'the assenihly of spar lli and shear strips I and 3, the ribs 4.being adhesively secured to theshearstrips and preferably also to Ithe spar .tube itself. Each rib is desirahly of laniinatedconstruction, being made 'up of ya core of lightweight expanded or porous material such as expanded cellulose acetate, or of balsa Wood (which .is-,also essentially 4alightweight porous material). "Such ia core is indicated at 'ill in the upper leit corner of Figure 1. 'The `ribs further include thinlpliesor veneers oi wood such as bass :wood indicated at ll. 'lhe .core 4ill and the plies ji l-ii are of course adhesively secured to .each other. This ,provides a lightweight .rib which .may he .eveniurther lightened 'bya cut-out in the region @to the .rear ci .the spar as indicated `at i2 in 4liigure .2. 'The .use .of such relatively lightweight ribs Jis Amade possible, in large par-t, because ci the .exceptionally lightweight blade employed, as descrbedfhereinafter.

The blade also 4incorporatesa leading .edge or nose piece i3 whichipreerably extends substantially throughout .the .length of the hlade and is adhesively .secured to the forward ends of the vtransverse ribs '9. This 'leading edge piece .is desirablymadeoi wo.od,ior instance, bass or spruce.

.The parts vof theblade thus far described may he assembled, for instance in a jig, and after appropriate gluing, the blade skeleton lthus formed .may .be covered with l.the skin. In vthe preferred form of the invention, .the lshin lis of laminated construction, comprising Aa vliglfitweiglfit porous core ill with outer and inner surfacing sheets l5 .and i6 Kseellgure 3),. Various niaterials 4may )be used for the `surfacing sheets iii and iii., 4suhh las thin plies .o wood .or .certain fabrics., for linstance .glass fibre .fabric Aindeed. for very light construction, 'the .invention contemplates employling paper rsheets, for example, kraft paper .of .about .(Kyl"r ,in thickness. lin preferred embodiments the surfacing sheets oi the blade slr'inare made o'f materials such .as `fabrics 'or absorbent paper so that the suiiiaoing sheets may be both impregnated with and 'bonded .to

`the Yporous .core "byfrneans .of .a single adhesive or impregnant, 'such .as a thermosetting resin. In this way .a tough Waterproof .construction .is provided.

As 'best seen in Figure 2, fthe `invention contemplates 'that the .blade skin be ormecl 'in two portions, i. e., upper and lower halves, the 'trailing edges thereof being hevelled 'to the rear o the ribs il so 'as to mate with each other and .provide substantial gluing area. At the nose of the blade, the nose piece I3 is shouldered. at

both its upper and lower sides along lines extending lengthwise of the blade so as to intert with the forward edges of the upper and lower blade skin elements. In the preferred practice of the invention, the blade skin halves are preformed to the desired airfoil contours and are then applied to the previously assembled skeleton structure consisting of the spar, shear strips, nose piece and ribs. The skin elements are then adhesively secured in place, i. e., are glued to the nose strip and ribs, and also to each other at the trailing edge.

According to the foregoing an exceedingly light and yet quite strong blade structure is provided, the shear strips serving to carry at least a major portion of the centrifugal load of the ribs and skin as well as of the nose piece I3. As compared with a similar blade made up with conventional plywood ribs and plywood blade covering, the weight of the blade superstructure (all parts cf the blade except the spar) according to the present invention need not be more than about 36% that of the more conventional structure.

The employment of the wood nose piece i3 aids in providing a desirable location of the chordwise center of gravity of the blade, it being desirable in most blades of the sustaining rotor type to provide a mass distribution such that the chordwise center of gravity lies along a line at approximately 25% of the chord dimension from the leading edge. The spar and the chordwise center of pressure, in many blades, are also desirably located along this 25% line. The nose piece, moreover, constitutes an element which may readily be drilled to receive ballast weights, where that is desired in order to provide a chordwise center of gravity well forward in the blade. It is also contemplated according to the invention that the rear face of the nose piece I3 may be recessed as shown in Figures 2 and 3 in order to receive conduits such as those illustrated at Il and i8, which may be employed in a blade of the type adapted to be driven by a fluid jet carried at the blade tip, for instance in a jet drive system such as disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 650,213, led February 26, 1946 which issued on June 24, 1952 as Patent 2,601,463. Such conduits, where used, should be adhesively secured in place.

An important point to note in connection with the blade construction described above is that the assembly and securing of the ribs to the spar does not require piercing or welding of the spar. rIhe shear strips 'i and 8, having extended surface engagement with the spar and being adhesively secured thereto throughout such extended surface engagement constitute an effective means for transferring the major centrifugal loads from the remainder of the blade structure to the spar. Moreover, it is particularly advantageous to form the shear strips of wood, since this facilitates the gluing of the ribs thereto and enhances the adhesive bond between the ribs and shear strips.

With regard to the structure of the blade skin, it is to be noted that for the core I prefer to employ a light porous wood such as balsa wood, although other light porous materials may also be utilized, for instance certain expanded plastics of highly cellular structure. Moreover, while paper sheets are preferred at the outer and inner surfaces of the core, certain other sheet or fabric type materials may be substituted, such as doped or resin-impregnated fabrics, for instance bre glass fabrics.

In the case of the ribs 9, balsa wood is preferred as the core, although here again other highly cellular materials may be substituted, such as certain of the expanded plastics or resins.

In securing the various elements of the blade to each other, glue may be employed as the adhesive or if desired the adhesive may be of certain other types, such as that commonly known as the rubber cement type, for example, cyclized material known to the trade as Cycleweld No. 4624 (a product of the E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.)

In the embodiment of Figures 4 and 5, many of the elements are similar to those described above. Thus the blade here shown includes a spar 6, a nose piece I3, ribs 9a and upper and lower skin elements constructed and applied as described above with reference to the rst form.

In the arrangement of Figures 4 and 5, however, the wood shear members which are adhesively secured to the spar 6 are located above and below the spar as indicated at i9 and 2li. These strips, moreover, are sectionalized lengthwise of the blade, each section lying between a pair of adjacent ribs as clearly appears from Figure 4, so that the ribs need only be cut out to pass the spar itself. In this arrangement the shear strips also serve to transmit centrifugal load from the ribs to the spar. While it might not always be necessary, the ribs are desirably adhesively secured to the shear strips.

As clearly appears in Figure 5 the upper and lower shear strips i9 and 2d fill the space between the spar tube and the inner surfa-ce of the blade skin and the invention contemplates that in this form the blade skin be directly glued to the shear strips in addition to being adhesively secured to the ribs. This arrangement thus provides for direct transmission of a portion of the centrifugal load on the skin to the shear strips (and from the shear strips to the spar). With both forms of construction described it is possible to fabricate air rotor blades having exceptionally favorable relation of blade weight to blade strength.

The various features hereinabove described are of especial advantage in aircraft sustaining rotors as their construction and operation present unusual and exceptionally severe problems.

I claim:

1. An air rotor blade of substantially hollow and light-weight construction, comprising a largely hollow spar extending lengthwise of the blade, positioned to carry directly axially the centrifugal load of the blade and proportioned to carry said load and the major bending loads on the blade, a largely porous airfcil shell with reinforcing lamina, and a plurality of largely porous stiffeners having reinforcing lamina, said stiifeners being located at intervals along the blade and interconnecting said spar and shell.

2. The blade of claim 1 wherein the spar is of metal and a shear element is bonded thereto and secured to said stiffeners.

3. An air rotor blade comprising a spar, a plurality of transverse ribs apertured to pass the spar, a sectionalized shear strip having its sections extended lengthwise of the spar between adjacent ribs, the shear strip being secured to the spar and each section thereof being positioned between adjacent ribs and thus serving to transmit centrifugal load from the rib at the inboard end thereof to the spar, and a blade skin secured to the ribs.

4. A construction according to claim 3 in which the shear strip lies between the spar and the blade skin and in which the blade skin is secured to the shear strip between adjacent ribs.

PAUL I-I. STANLEY.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Ludin Sept. 19, 1922 Dickey Feb. 13, 1923 H Sundstedt Sept. 15, 1931 Cierva Aug. 14, 1934 Bennett Jan. 12, 1937 Numberv Number Name Date Hafner Feb. 16, 1937 Bennett Apr. 4, 1939 Jablonsky Apr. 18, 1939 Mautner May 27 1941 Stanley Feb. 10, 1942 Pullin Dec. 1, 1942 Rheinfrank Jan. 14, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Dec. 16, 1938 

